Key Highlights
- The Delhi High Court ruled that the PM CARES Fund retains a statutory right to privacy despite being a public‑function entity.
- The judgment rests on Section 8(1)(j) of the Right to Information Act, which safeguards personal and third‑party data unless a higher public‑interest justification is shown.
- The court emphasized that the privacy entitlement is statutory, not merely a derivative of Article 21 of the Constitution.
- All third parties—trusts, societies, cooperatives or individuals—are entitled to the same privacy protection under RTI.
- The decision arose from an RTI petition seeking tax‑exemption documents submitted by the Fund, which the court ultimately denied disclosure.
Detailed Insights
The Division Bench, headed by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia, clarified that mere performance of public duties does not strip an organisation of the privacy safeguards embedded in the RTI Act. By characterising the PM CARES Fund as a juristic personality rather than a mere extension of the State, the court held that governmental oversight does not automatically trigger the waiver of privacy rights.
Section 8(1)(j) was invoked to exempt the Fund’s records from mandatory disclosure, reiterating that the exemption is a statutory shield, not contingent upon constitutional privacy guarantees. The bench further explained that the RTI framework makes no distinction between public and private third parties; any entity—whether a school run by a trust or a private individual—must receive proper notice before its information can be revealed.
The original RTI request, filed by petitioner Girish Mittal, sought to uncover documents submitted by the Fund to claim tax exemptions. Although the Central Information Commission had previously ordered the Income Tax Department to produce the records, a single‑judge order of the Delhi High Court set aside that directive, prompting the appeal that resulted in the present judgment.
Key Concepts
- Statutory Privacy (Section 8(1)(j)): A specific exemption under the RTI Act that bars disclosure of personal or third‑party information unless a larger public interest is demonstrably proven.
- Juristic Personality: Legal recognition of an entity (such as a trust or fund) as having rights and obligations separate from the state, enabling it to claim statutory protections.
- Third‑Party Rights under RTI: The principle that any individual or organisation whose information is sought must be notified and afforded an opportunity to contest disclosure, irrespective of its public or private nature.